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Penguins, Albatross and other birds
Returning from Stewart island we traveled along the South Coast (The Catlins) to the Otago Peninsula (Dunedin) and onwards to Oamaru. On the way we had many fantastic wildlife encounters. It started at Waipapa Point Lighthouse where we finally found the rarest sea lion in the world, the New Zealand Sea Lion. Two of them were lounging about on the beach not bothered by our presence at all. Nevertheless, we kept well away, so as not to provoke them.
Next we did a short detour to Slope Point, the Southernmost Point on the South Island, and of course it featured the Southernmost Geocache as well :).
Our stop for the night was Curio Bay, which is famous for its Petrified Forest, resident Hector's Dolphins and Yellow-Eyed Penguins. The Petrified Forest was the easiest thing to visit, we were lucky that it was low tide, so we saw the full extent of it. Most remarkable were the fallen tree trunks that were still visible within the rocks.
The weather was quite windy and cold and this brought many waves to Porpoise Bay (just round the corner) and we couldn't spot any Dolphins. Neither did we see any Penguins even though we waited over an hour in the cold evening air. Knowing that they go to see at daybreak, I got up early for another shot. Once in place I already heard loud noises (the Maori Name for the penguin translates to Noisy Caller) and after a while I saw the first one appear. All in all I could observe two Yellow-Eyed Penguins for about fifteen minutes while they got ready to go out to Sea.
On our way further East we stopped at a number of Waterfalls (one of which, Niagara Falls is the smallest waterfall in New Zealand) and at the very scenic Cathedral Caves. Huge Caves which have been eroded into the cliffs near the beach (thus only accessible at low tide).
Our last stop before heading back North was Nugget Point, another very scenic lighthouse. However, here the wind hit us with its full force and we didn't stay too long. In the grass we observed a Yellowhammer, which couldn't fight the wind and was always blown down onto the ground again, we managed to snap a quick picture and then left him in peace.
Our original plan was to make Dunedin our base to explore the Otago Peninsula, however, Dunedin was completely overrun due to the oncoming weekend and lots of University events. So we headed to the much quieter Portobello instead, which was a great decision because it put us close to all the things we wanted to visit. For example Hoopers Inlet, which featured a very interesting Bird Watching themed Where-I-Go Cache. During our exploration of that area we spotted: Kingfisher, Pied Stilt, Pied Oystercatcher, Paradise Shieldduck, Grey
Duck, Mallard, White-faced Heron, Pukeko, Red-Billed Gull, Yellowhead,
Australasian Harrier, New Zealand Dotterel, Black-Fronted Tern
In the late afternoon we visited the Royal Albatross Centre, where we joined a tour to visit the only Albatross breeding colony on the mainland. We were lucky enough, that a group of teenage Albatross were around; they weren't busy with breeding or feeding, so they used the strong winds to fly circles around us. A really fantastic experience!
The Albatross weren't the only highlight at the Albatross Center, there were also lots of Black-Winged Seagulls and Red-Billed Seagulls around. The latter were also breeding just next to the path and we could see some of their chicks up close.
Next we headed to the Penguin Place, a private eco-tourism project for the rare Yellow-Eyed Penguins. The farmer who ownes this land noticed that there were Yellow-Eyed Penguins nesting near the beach and that they were disturbed by introduced predators and the high presence of humans on the beach. So they closed the whole area off and with a rigid trapping system managed to greatly reduce the amount of predators. To finance this, they offer tours where the Penguins can be observed without disturbing them from secluded spots which can be reached through an extensive trench system. In addition they have a small hospital where they rehabilitate ill penguins. When we were there there were two juveniles in the hospital, which gave us a fantastic opportunity to see a Yellow-Eyed Penguin up close (through small holes in the fence, though the pinguin couldn't see us in full size and wasn't scared by us)
We then drove down to the protected area and saw a couple of Little Blue Penguins looking out of their nesting boxes. On the way to the lookout we spotted a Yellow-Eyed Penguin hanging out in the grass, unfortunately, in an area where we couldn't get easy access, so we went to a spot where we could observe the beach instead. After waiting for a couple of minutes two Penguins came ashore (which is a lot, considering that this Penguin is considered anti-social, because it avoids the presence of other penguins) and walked up and down for a long time, giving us plenty of opportunity to observe them. If you want to see Yellow-Eyed Penguins then we recommend to go to Penguin Place instead of to Curio Bay, because the Penguins are much better protected here (especially from humans, as they are easily scared by humans waiting for them at the beach, resulting in underfed chicks)
On the way back to our hotel we spotted a Royal Spoonbill searching for food on the beach. A very curious bird indeed!
The next day we headed North to Oamaru, which has an old Victorian center with many small shops and interesting museums (Steampunk HQ and Whitestone City are worth a visit).
But what drew us to Oamaru in the first place was the Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony. A conservation area where hundreds of Little Blue Penguins are nesting. We visited during the day, where we could see one adult with two chicks in one nesting box and a juvenile in another. The interesting part was the evening viewing, where they came on shore in big groups (called rafts). During our 1.5 hours there we saw over 100 penguins come ashore.Labels: animals, geocaching, new zealand, pictures, traveling
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